


Day 17 - Spooning

by AislinMarue



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge - Science Boyfriends - Bruce Banner/Tony Stark [17]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Science Husbands, Stanner, aftermath of a Hulk out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 02:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8383534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AislinMarue/pseuds/AislinMarue
Summary: Tony takes Bruce out on a date and the evening is unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Everything's been pretty fluffy for the most part with this challenge so I thought maybe it was time for a bit of angst. Sorry in advance!

He'd been doing so much better. He really had. Bruce was almost proud of how well he'd managed to control his transformation into the Hulk since he became part of the Avengers. 

 

He'd screwed up so damn bad that day, though. 

 

Bruce had gone out with Tony at Tony's insistence. He wanted a date and Bruce couldn't say no. He was a recluse generally, yes, but he wanted so badly to make Tony happy. What would a date hurt in the grand scheme of things?

 

A whole damn lot apparently. 

 

It was a wonderful dinner and Bruce had enjoyed himself with Tony immensely. Tony was wonderful and considerate. Bruce always loved spending time with him. If it had to be in public on occasion then so be it. 

 

Yet as they were leaving the restaurant, everything had gone straight to hell. 

 

It started with paparazzi who seemed to love following Tony every chance they got, hoping to snag pics or videos of him out and about whenever he traveled around Manhattan. Bruce didn’t care for them, but he’d long accepted that if he wanted to be with Tony Stark, then that was just part and parcel of the whole relationship aspect of being with Tony. Bruce’s habit was to keep his head down and keep walking to the nearest form of shelter, be it a building or vehicle of some sort. He’d been about to employ that particular strategy that evening before the paparazzi had really noticed him being there with Tony. It was so easy for Bruce to blend in with his surroundings when he truly wanted to, after all.

 

Then:

 

“How’s it feel to be a murderer, Stark?”

 

Bruce had frozen in place upon hearing the question, delivered in a derisive tone of voice. He turned and saw a man lingering near the paparazzi yet he clearly wasn’t one of them. He had the look and bearing of a soldier, a sneer on his face as Tony had turned around to look at who had spoken.

 

“Excuse me?” Tony had heard the man perfectly, though. Bruce could tell.

 

“I said, how’s it feel to be a murderer? Did you hear me that time, you son of a bitch?” the man challenged, his anger there for all to see.

 

Bruce had felt his heart rate picking up and willed it to calm as best he could, knowing he couldn’t go green on a busy Manhattan street like that.

 

But then the man had lunged for Tony without further words passing between them. The flash of light glinting off a blade was the last thing Bruce had remembered before the Hulk took over and everything went dark.

 

The damage hadn’t been terrible from what Bruce was told once he was himself again. Tony’s would be assassin was dead, however, courtesy of the Hulk. Bruce had barely made it to the restroom before the bile came up and he lost everything in his stomach. He’d killed a man. Yet that man had tried to kill the most important person in Bruce’s life. 

 

Tony had walked away with barely a scratch. He’d seen the blade and managed to react in time to avoid major injury. Then Bruce had turned and the Hulk had handled Tony’s attacker seconds later in a fit of absolute rage. No one was sure of the man’s exact motive yet, but Bruce was told the authorities were investigating. He’d also been told that as far as the police and officials of New York City were concerned, the Hulk had been provoked. A teammate and by extension Bruce’s lover had been threatened, therefore, the Hulk reacted. 

 

Not everyone would see it that way, Bruce knew. The rest of the team was cleaning up his mess, but Bruce could only give into the urge to hide himself away. So he’d gone to his room and locked the door. It wouldn’t keep Tony out. Not if Tony really wanted in. But Bruce needed the time.

 

He’d left the lights off on his way to the bathroom where he’d stood under the hot spray from the shower for a good thirty minutes, like he could wash away not only the dust and dirt on his skin, but the guilt and self-loathing that he carried as well. His skin came clean well enough. The rest, he knew, would take a long time. If he ever really got over it completely. Bruce suspected he wouldn’t.

 

Still the lights remained off when Bruce left the bathroom and collapsed into his bed. The shades were drawn and the only light in the bedroom came from the numbers on the clock sitting on the bedside table. Bruce ignored them, facing the opposite wall from the door. He huddled under the blankets and tried valiantly to will himself to sleep, yet he knew that likely wouldn’t happen that night either.

 

He spent hours in the same spot, staring into the darkness, wishing that he had the ability to turn back time. Even if it was to just convince Tony they should have stayed in that day. But Tony’s attacker probably would’ve just tried to find another way to get to the billionaire later on if today hadn’t happened. 

 

Tony was safe. He hadn’t even needed stitches for the cut on his torso where the knife had grazed him. Bruce was immensely grateful for that. The relief when he’d regained consciousness after Hulking out and seeing Tony safe and sound would have sent him to his knees if Bruce hadn’t been on the ground already. 

 

Tony was safe and Bruce knew that was all that should have mattered. That only the attempted assassin was dead. It could have been so much worse. So very much. He couldn’t shake the emotional turmoil that came with the knowledge that he’d taken a life, though. He was a man who had tried so hard to control the rage within him and live a life of peace, helping others however possible.

 

His inner musings were interrupted when the door to his bedroom opened quietly. There was only one person it would be and Bruce felt that surge of relief all over again that Tony was even there to be able to walk into his bedroom like that. He bit his bottom lip hard, trying not to think of what ifs or could have beens anymore.

 

The bed dipped slightly behind him and Tony got into bed. Seconds later, Bruce felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him, his back becoming pressed against Tony’s chest as the billionaire curled up against him, spooning him. Bruce closed his eyes to savor just how good that closeness felt. He always treasured it for the gift that it was.

 

“I love you,” Tony said quietly to him in the dark.

 

“I love you too,” Bruce whispered back, ashamed of the way his voice cracked.

 

“You helped save my life today, Bruce.” Tony’s hands were gentle where they rested on Bruce’s skin, one directly over the scientist’s heart.

 

“I killed a man.” The admission made him close his eyes tightly, but he felt Tony pull him closer still, kissing the back of his neck softly.

 

“You were trying to protect someone you love.” Bruce had the idle thought that it was a strange day indeed when Tony Stark was trying to be the voice of reason. Yet the part of him that could appreciate a reasonable outlook on things was quietly agreeing. Most human beings, when confronted with a threat against a loved one, would likely do whatever they could to protect that loved one, even up to the point of eliminating the threat.

 

Bruce covered Tony’s hands with his own and linked their fingers, holding onto him like Tony was Bruce’s lifeline.

 

In all truthfulness, Tony really was. And all Bruce wanted to do was hold onto Tony for all he was worth.


End file.
